


On Top of the World

by nyeehnyeehmangos



Category: Nothing Much to Do
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-06
Updated: 2014-12-06
Packaged: 2018-02-28 07:52:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2724536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyeehnyeehmangos/pseuds/nyeehnyeehmangos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He berates himself for feeling that way. After all, he has Melanie and that makes him feel superior to others but he can't help but look at the girl he lost and observe what could've been."</p><p>Claudio's POV as he watches Hero and John during the school dance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Top of the World

**Author's Note:**

> I don't actually know if they have prom-like dances in New Zealand but here it is anyway! Enjoy!

He feels on top of the world. Whatever happened in the past is done and over with. He constantly tells himself that everyone has forgiven and forgotten. He has returned to his rightful spot as Claudio without the enormous lingering feeling of guilt. He has a...different girlfriend. She's no angel but she's pretty and nice enough so Claudio, as classy as always, is content.

He goes to the dance. Why shouldn't he? He's popular, handsome, nice enough. What's not to like? He has it all planned out. Limo and corsage and all. He's ready. 

Mostly ready at least.

He doesn't expect to see Hero there. He isn't dumb enough to think that she would avoid all social events but he's smart enough to know that she has purposely faded into the background since Bea had left. He doesn't mind. He likes living without feeling like a cloud of guilt follows him into every corner. He even managed to forget about Hero for the past half of the year. That is until she walks into the gymnasium.

She's as pretty as ever. A little darker in color scheme but still she manages to radiate a form of happiness that Claudio forgot existed. She's wearing a deep plum dress with mesh around the neck and shoulders. It’s all very dark and it's not what he expected but he still believes she looks stunning. Everyone does. 

He watches from across the room as she bursts into the gym and almost doubles over in laughter. He's confused because since her birthday, he hadn’t seen her smile so much. He hears her yell the words 'I beat you, sucker.' But still he's lost. She's still laughing when another figure enters the room. John Donaldson. He's laughing too and by the matching purple tie and flower pinned to his suit, Claudio realizes they're each other's dates. He's shocked. He looks around searching for another face that portrays how he feels but he can't find a single one. 

As the night passes, he can't seem to keep his gaze off of Hero. He tries to remind himself that this isn't fair to her. He’s the one who hurt her. He’s the one who managed to get ousted from her life. Still his eyes gravitate towards her, begging to be noticed. She doesn't though.

He watches her and John carefully. They're always touching, whether it is hand holding, kissing, dancing, or even just using each other as support when talking to someone else. But they always touch and they're always smiling. 

Even John is smiling. He always has this more smile than smirk thing going on, and the other moments when he doesn't, he's smiling like a mad man. Hero's doing the same thing. Hero has adopted John’s smirk and kept her signature smile. Hero’s smile cuts right to Claudio's core. He'd like to say that it's for an unknown reason but he knows why it hurts to see Hero smiling that broadly. 

It's because she had never smiled like that when they were together. It was all close lipped and simple something that Claudio had found incredibly endearing at the time. But there were no smiles of the sort from hero tonight. There were only smiles that were so wide you could see her back molars. If she wasn't smiling like that, she was looking into John’s eyes and smiling more affectionately than he had ever witnessed. And Claudio may have been a jerk to her at the end of their relationship but he still cared. 

He still does. 

He keeps watching. A slow song comes on and Claudio expect Hero to be the one to drag John on the dance floor but again finds himself in the wrong. Even from across the room, Claudio notices the bitter eye roll Hero makes as a slow song emerges from the speakers. (He won't admit it but it's times like these that Claudio realizes that what happened during her birthday really affected her). John gives her some punch and smirks and he can tell that he's asking her to dance. She scoffs and sips her drink a little more before John takes the drink out of her hands and sets it on the table. Claudio feels like he should do something, anything, but then he watches from afar as John bows and extends his hand to her. He watches as she giggles and returns to her normal lovely self and puts her hand in his. 

It hurts Claudio a bit to see them dancing so close together that if you put a magazine between them, it wouldn't fall. Even when they were dating and they danced together at a party (not Pedro's God awful Halloween one but a different one) they had always kept a good six inch distance. But here, Hero’s torso is pressed firmly against Johns and his hands are wound tightly around her waist and Claudio can't help but feel...a little jealous. 

He berates himself for feeling that way. After all, he has Melanie and that makes him feel superior to others but he can't help but look at the girl he lost and observe what could've been. 

A little later in the night after Hero finishes dancing he watches them go outside. He wants to know where they are heading, he needs to know so badly that he feels his feet move out the door and into the courtyard of the school. He knows this is wrong but he messed things up pretty badly before, what more could he do? So he follows discreetly until they settle at a picnic table. 

He hides behind a wall that's situated behind them because where else is he going to hide. And watches. Fortunately for him, he's close enough that he can hear them talk and for some odd reason, he's grateful. 

"What are we doing out here?" he hears hero question. 

"stargazing," he replies in a duh type voice.

She gives him an incredulous look and he chuckles softly and takes her hand.

"Look," John begins. "I know last year I screwed up your life and I hurt you and I regret that. You know I do"

"John," Hero interrupts her voice laced with sadness. 

"No," he states firmly. "Hear me out. I know I screwed up. You know I did and you know I didn't mean to drag you into my mess of a life. And I know I ruined your birthday and cookies and love in general for you while carrying out my master plan and I feel so bad about that."

Claudio takes this time to peer around the wall again. He observes the scene and finds that they have shifted. Hero is sitting in John’s lap and her head is tucked into the crook of his neck and his head is leaning on hers and suddenly Claudio realized that he's intruding on what's supposed to be an intimate moment. But then he reminds himself that, hey, this is John Donaldson, he's bound to screw this up. So he listens.

"But somehow you managed to overcome what I did to you and be you. A slightly more cynical you but you nonetheless," John continues.

Hero chuckles and kisses him in the cheek before resuming her original position.

"What I'm saying is that, you still love me. Despite my past and our past and my messed up head, you still love me. And I still feel in debt to you. And I know you say that I repay you by being with you through your panic attacks and studying for your Shakespeare paper but that's not enough. I know it isn't so I got you this."

John pulls out a velvet box and Claudio listens as hero gasps. 

"It's not a wedding ring but it's a promise ring and I promise to love you no matter what hell we are put through, okay?"

Hero’s crying now. She sits up and kisses John senseless to the point where his hands are threatening to venture into restricted territories. But Hero pulls away just in time and John blushes. She kisses his cheek again before putting on her ring and putting on his matching one.

Claudio's still watching. It's borderline stalkerish but somehow he doesn't care. 

"I love you," Hero whispers.

"Love you too," John repeats.

Claudio is about to leave but then he hears three words that make him stop.

"Happy Birthday Hero," John says against her lips.

Claudio decides to leave now. One, because he's pretty sure the moments over and two because he feels absolutely sick to his stomach. He's not going to puke but he can't stand any longer, so he runs back into the gymnasium and sits down. 

After all the actions and heartfelt meaning that Claudio has observed between hero and John, he feels mad. He's mad that he was so insecure that he let her slip away. He's mad that she still hasn't forgiven him while she's out there kissing the dude who manipulated the situation. But mostly, he's mad that she gets to be happy while he still attempts to get over her.

Melanie's dancing with some other guy now and Claudio could care less. He notices hero stumble into the gym cheering and pointing at John because obviously she beat him again. But John’s a good sport and only kisses her temple before dragging her back out to the dance floor.

Then the king and queen are announced. And for some suckish reason, Hero and Claudio get picked. Claudio stumbles up to get his crown and Hero is still looking at John asking him repeatedly if this is a joke. It's not. She gives an intense glare to every single person in the room as she walks up. Everyone is petrified. It's as if a fluffy unicorn charged at you without notice. Except it's Hero Duke, and she's practically shooting lasers.

Begrudgingly, she accepts the crown they offer and starts to head back down to John. Except, they meekly announce its time for the king and queen’s first dance. Hero freezes and stares at John then looks at Claudio once before evaluating that he's no use. His eyes are fixated on a crack in the stage and he's about to offer her his hand to dance (as a truce type offering) but before he can she leaps off the stage gracefully and grabs John’s hand and pulls him into a passionate kiss. The whole gym erupts into cheers because Hero Duke isn't bold or mean. But tonight she's different and the crowd eats it up.

Claudio can't help but stand on the stage baffled as Hero pulls John into the center of the gym where his "first" dance with Hero is supposed to be held. He watches as she takes the tiara off her head and situates it on top of John’s laughing hysterically. And even as people start to dance along with Hero and John, he still stands there wondering how that girl was possible Hero. 

Eventually he makes it off the stage and hobbles his way over to his table where he can't help but wonder how she does it. How she bounces back all fine and dandy while he's still suffering from major side effects of heartache and guilt.

When the dance ends and everyone makes their way home, Claudio decides that this is quite possibly the worst night ever. He sulks and broods for a while before he comes to a conclusion. 

Hero's in love. And he's happy for her. And somewhere in between all the anger and resentment he's somewhat happy for John too.


End file.
